Automatic piano.



PATENTED FEB. 18, 1908.

M. CLARK. AUTOMATIC PIANO.

APPLICATION FILE D MAR. 23, 1905. RENEWED JULY 8, 1907- 2 SHEETSSHEET 1.

I I T", @MZ

PATEN'IED FEB. 18, 1908.

2 snzms-smm 2.

M. CLARK.

AUTOMATIC PIANO. APPLICATION FILED MAR. 23. 1905. RENEWED JULY 8, 1907.

MELYILLE CLARK, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

AUTOMATIC PIANO.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 18, 1908.

Application filed March 23. 1905. Serial Hamil-581. Renewed July 8. 1907. Serial No. 382,719-

To all it may concern: r Be it known that I, MELviLLE CLARK, a

citiren of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illino1s, iiave invented new and useful Improvements in Automatic Pianos, of which the following is a specification, reference be ing had to the accompanying drawings, formingra part thereof.

he'purppse of this invention is to provide in an upright piano an improved construction of devices for automatic playing which shall permit the location of such devices in better relation to the manual keys on which they operate, and more compactly in relation to the parts of the instrument not concerned in the automatic action and in relation to a case of substantially ordinary proportions and dimensions.

Itconsists of the features of construction set out in the claims.

In the drawings :-Figure 1 is a fore-andaft vertical section of a piano and case embod irig my invcntion, the parts being shown in t 0' position occupied when the automatic devices are'not in action. similar to Fig. 1, omitting certain parts of the piano not concerned in the invention and showing the automatic action parts in position for automatic playing. Fig. 3 is a section at the-line, 3- 3, on Fig. 1, certain parts being broken away. 4 is a section at the line, 4-4, on Fig. 3. i 5 is an end view of the motor pneumatic ca inet and part of the fall board. Fig. 6 is'a section at the line, 6-6, on Figs. 1 and 5. Fig. 7 is a detail plan of end portion of the. manual and1adjacentend of piano case. Fig. 8 is'a detail elevation 0 one hinge fitting for the fall board.

In certain respects, the construction herein shown is similar to that shown in my application Serial No; 244,326,. automatic piano, filed February 6, 1905. In the present structure, as in that shown in said application, the vacuum chamber, 1, containmg the system of primary pneumatics, 2, 2,

is mounted above the rear portion of the manual keys in front of the action, extending up behin'dthe desk front, the tracker board,

3;.take-up and rewind rolls, 4 and 5, for cartying-the perforated sheet, 6, and all the mechanism for giving movement to the sheet,

bein supports 1,be ind the desk. Said vacuum chamber is above the vacuum chamber,

mounted for support upon the key table, 7, as in said application, and the air-exhaust Fi .2isaviewdevices, comprising the pumpers, 8, and the These parts of the structure need not be further described.

In my present invention, the motor pneumatics, 11, 11, are arranged in two banks located forward of the vacuum chamber, 1, but instead-of being supported by rigid connection with the vacuum chamber as in the construction shown in said application, they are mounted in a rigid frame comprising duct boards, 12, 12, extending horizontally under the several banks of motor pneumatics (the pneumatics being shown ranged in two banks only), and rigidly connected by' struts, 12, 12, located at intervals in the length inserted between the motor pneumatics where space may be reserved for them. These struts are also 'oined at their forward ends to-a front anel, 12". From the upper duct board simiar struts, 12", extend to a top anel, 12 and the top panel and front pane are joined by end panels, 12, said end-panels, front panel and top panel constituting four sides of an inclosing cabinet or box for the motor pneumatics, which is open at the lower and inner sides, and has in it shelves consisting of the duct boards, 12, 12, which may be further stayed b an le hangers, 12 ,,/at the ends; The fall card 13, is hinged to the forward side of the motor pneumatic cabinet, the de tail construction of the hinged devices being contrived with reference also to provide counterbalance for the fall board by which it may be held safely in upright position when open, and with reference to certain other incidental purposes which will he'pointed out in the course of the description. To each of the end panels, 12, there is secured a pivot plate, 14, having a lug, 14 projecting own orwardly from the lower orwardcorner of the plate and having a rigid pivot'stud, 18 projecting inwardly. This stud engages. a

slot ,19, in a hinge lever plate, 19, which is let into and made as: to the end of the fall board, 13. This hinge and lever plate is right-angle shaped, having an arm, 19,

' 1O 6, so that in its rearward extent from said bends it stands just inside the end panel, 12'

(see Fig. 6).

Within the motor pneumatic cabinet and pivoted to the end panel at the lower inner or rear corner of the latter, there is a weighted lever arm, 21, which extends from its pivot upward and forward, having the weight, 21,

at its upper forward extremity, and to this weighted lever arm the rear end of the link,

20, is pivotally connected intermediate the pivot of said lever arm and the weight. See

Figs. 4 and 5. The relations of the several connected parts are such that the fall board swinging through ninety degrees from horizontal to upright position causes the weighted lever, 21, to oscillate a few degrees, only, back and forward from an intermediate position which it occupies when the fall board is erect, as seen in Fig. 4. The intermediate position is that at which the lever arm, 19*, and the link, 20, are in line, and as the fall board moves rearward of that position toward the upright position, the pivot of said link and lever to each other passes back or. downward from said line and the weight operates then to bring the fall board to erect position and hold it securely at such position; and asthe fall board is carried iojrward from said intermediate position, the weight still being forward of the fulcrum of the lever, 21, operates to force the fall board to closed positionthat is, it cooperates with the weight of the fall. board itself to close it.

For the purpose of further security of the fall board in open position, and for the purose also of adapting the fall board at its ower edge when open to serve as a stop for the keys at the u per side, the key blocks, 22, upon which t.1e motor pneumatic cabinet rests and is adapted to slide, have transverse notches, 22, at a position directly below the lower edge of the fall board when the latter is erect and wide enough to permit the fall board to drop into such notches when it is thus erect: and the hinge and lever plate, 19, has for this reason the elongated aoerture' or slot, 1!), for the engagement of too hinged intle or stud, 18*, this slot being of such ength as to accommodate the drop of the full board. This necessitates a short furrow shown at 22 Fi 4 in the u er sur 5 Fig. 4:.

The motor pneumatic cabinet is arranged to slide between the cheeks, 23, 23, of the piano case under the fixed shelf, 24., the cheeks having at their inner sides grooves, 23, in which are engaged studs, 25, at the u per rear corners of said cabinet, a suitable p ate, 25 being provided with the stud for the purpose of securing attachment to the cabinet. See Fig. 5. The cabinet and its contents obviously obtain the proper suport by the end panels riding on the key locks, 22, the lower ends of said panels being covered with felt, as shown at 12 so as to ride as described without disfiguring the upper surface of the he blocks at their for ward exposed and finis ed portion When the fall board is at closed position, the operator, lifting it sufficiently to engage its forward lip, can draw forward the entire motor pneumatic cabinet with its contents to the position shown in Fig. 2. In this position the strikers, 11, 11s,.of the motor pneumatics are in proper position for acting upon the keys respectively, and are in substantially the position with respect to the keys whic is occupied by the strikers of an exterior playerwhen the player is adjusted to the piano for playing. The duct boards, 12, have their ducts connected by flexible tubes, 26, 26, with the corresponding air passages, 27, 27, in the forward wall of the air chamber, 1, so that the movement of the entire system of motorpneumatics in the cabinet does not interfere with the pneumatic action nor with the control of the same by means of the primary pneumatics and the erforated sheet and its operating devices. .n order to insure rigidity of position of the pneumatic cabinet so that the reaction of the strikers against the keys shall not tend to lift it at the forward side in playing, I mount upon the forward end of the key block a hook plate, 27, and provide a rigid angle hook, 2S, fastened on theinner side of the under the hook, 127", of the hook plate at the forward or operating position oft-he cabinet.

See Fig. 2.

I claim 1. in an automatic piano, in combination with the manual ke s, motor pneumatics andstrikers connected therewith respectively for operating on the keys; a rigid frame or cabinet in which the motor )neumatics and strikers are all mounted, sucl net being mounted on the. piano case for foreand-aft movement between a position above the rear part of the keys and the osition above their forward part; control ing devices for the motor pne'nmatics supported within the piano case and flexible connections between the motor )neumatics and their respective controlling evices.

2. In an automatic piano, in combination with the piano case and the manual keys, a frame or cabinet mounted on the piano case 1 frame or cabifor fore-a d-aft movement between a position above the rear part and a position above the forward part of the keys; motor pneumatics mounted in such cabinet; controlling devices mounted in the piano case; flexible connections from the controlling devices to the motor pneumatics respectively, the forpiano case back of the manua and a fall board hinged at its rear part to the lower side iel of said p p In an automatic piano, in combination with the case and the manual keys, a motor ppeumatic frame or cabinet mounted on the piano case for movement fore-and-aft between a position above the rear part and a position above the forward part of the keys; motor pneuinatics and strikers connected with them respectively mounted in such frame or cabinet; controlling devices for the motor pneumatics mounted within the piano case and flexible connections from them to the motor pneumatics respectively; a' fall .boarzl hinged to the lower forward side of such frame or cabinet and a cmlnterweight ment ft,

eonneetedwith such fall board contained within the piano case.

piano case and manual keys, a frame or cabinet mounted on the piano case for fore- 'in such cabinet, the forward sideof said cabinet constituting an exposed upright panel of the piano case back of the manual;

. a fall-board hinged to said panel, and counterbalancing devicesfor the fall-board connected thereto and located within the cabinet.

In a piano, in combination with the cas and the manual keys, a frame or cabinet Inoit fled on the case for fore-and-aft move- 2 its forward side over the portion of the kelp exposed for playing; motor pneumatics tmd key strikers operated thereby mountetf. in such cabinet, the forward side of the cabinet constituting an exposed upright panel of the piano case back of the manual it fall-:b-ifard hinged at its rear part to the l wer side of said panel; counterbalancing devices for the fall-board located within the cabinet and connected to the fall-board at the ends of the latter.

6. In a piano, in combination with the In a piano, in combination with the at the rear position of said cabinet;

of the keys exposed for manual playing; an

assemblage of automatically-operated keystriking devices mounted in such cabinet I, and carried thereby in such fore-and-aft .ward side of the motor pneumatic cabinet constituting an exposed upright panel of the l movement, the forward side of the cabinet constituting an exposed upright panel of the piano case extending back of the manual at the rear position of the cabinet; a fall-board hinged at its rear part'to the lower side of such panel; a lever armextending from the hinged edge of the fall-board at one end.

- on the piano case for movement foreand-aft between a positlon above the rear part and a position above the forward part of the keys, such frame or cabinet having top, front and end panels which are exposed when the cabinet is at forward position; a single-piece fall board hinged at its rear lower edge at the forward lower side of the cabinet and a counterweight connected with such fall board and located within the cabinet.

8. In an automatic piano, in combination with the piano case and the manual keys, a motor pneumatic frame or cabinet mounted on the piano case for movement fore-and-aft between a position above the rear part and-415 Y a position above the forward part of the keys, such frame or cabinet havin top, front and end panels which are exposed net is at forward position; banks of motor pneumatics mounted within the cabinet; a fall board hinged at its rearor lower edge to the forward lower edge of the cabinet, and a counterweight connected with the fall board located within the cabinet at the end of the bank of motor pneumaties.

In testimony whereof, I have herelnto set my hand, in the presence of two witnesses, at Chicago, Illinois, this 7thday of March, 1905.

MELVILLE CLARK.

In the presence of CHAS. S. BURTON, FRED; G. Flsommz.

when the cabi 

